UK Government Extends Copyright Crackdown To All Open Wifi

The UK Government will not exempt libraries, businesses such as cafes or bookstores, museums, or even universities from it’s copyright enforcement policy. Open wifi networks will be a thing of the past now that the UK Government will hold the owners of open networks responsible for violations in copyright laws committed from within it’s network.

The efforts related to the Digital Economy Bill imposes strict enforcement policies for copyright protections. This new policy will make it impossible for small businesses and the like to offer Wi-Fi access. A scenario described by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in a document Online Infringement of copyright: Libraries, Universities and Wi-fi providers, Feb. 10, 2010, regarding the new policy for open wifi access would essentially “outlaw open Wi-Fi for small businesses.”